Do It Carrying Your Cross
Greg Howse
In the fall of 1994 I took a team of eight from Cornerstone Christian Center on a short-term missions trip to
Croatia. We determined before we went on the journey that we were not going as a bunch of hotshot, know-it-alls,
telling everyone how to be Christians the “American way.” We intentionally humbled ourselves, first before the
Lord, second before one another, and then before the saints we were with in Croatia.
All we wanted to do was give away whatever element of God's grace was at work in us. And each of us wanted to
learn as much as possible from our brothers and sisters in the cities of Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb. That intentional
mind-set gave us a deep sense of love and respect for saints of God we had never met before. They opened their
lives to us, responding to our desire to serve them. It was a wonderful experience.
We were Americans—black and white—on a cross-cultural adventure. Every principle of this study applied. What
we did we did deliberately, sincerely, and sensitively. Roll all of those factors together and they add up to sacrifice—a
very Christlike quality.
Fellow pastors Raleigh Washington and Glen Kehrein define sacrifice as “the willingness to relinquish an established
status or position to genuinely adopt a lesser position in order to facilitate a cross-cultural relationship.”
[Raleigh Washington and Glen Kehrein, Breaking Down Walls (Chicago: Moody Press, 1993), 185.] This kind
of sacrifice is absolutely mandatory for success in a cross-cultural relationship.
Take the Lowly Place
The Arthurian legends will never die. Not too long ago a movie titled First Knight brought King Arthur,
Lancelot, Guinevere, and Camelot to the big screen once more. At one point in the story King Arthur and his knights
gathered at the round table. Arthur explained its shape by saying that in Camelot no knight is better or higher
than another, but everyone lives to serve the others. There were no places of honor at the round table; all were
seats of service.
Because of the ethnic makeup of our local congregation, I am often involved in situations in which I am the
only Caucasian. I try to be intentional about taking the lesser position whenever I can. Sometimes people try to
get me to be more assertive, but I resist that because it will not facilitate long-lasting relationships, filled
with mutual respect if I'm always throwing my weight around as the white pastor.
Jesus told a story about an oriental wedding feast that went on for a long time. All of the guests jockeyed
for positions of visibility and prestige (Luke 14:7–11).
What's the danger of wanting to be important? (Luke 14:8, 9)
What's the advantage of approaching life as the servant of others? (Luke 14:10)
Why should you “sit down in the lowest place” in a cross-cultural relationship?
How can you “sit down in the lowest place” in a cross-cultural relationship?
How will humbling yourself in this way open the way for you to “go up higher?”
Kingdom Extra
Love is servant-spirited. The worldly-mind will never understand or accept this call. A servant is one who accepts
and acknowledges a place beneath those whom he serves, one willing to forsake the systems of social status on our
human scale of values. Servants are viewed as performing the unworthy tasks considered beneath those whom they
serve. But Jesus says that those who function as His servants—serving the world in His name—will be honored by
the heavenly Father. Every true servant will ultimately be honored by the One whom they serve and who has promised
them honor for that service! [Spirit-Filled Life® Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991),
1598, “Kingdom Dynamics: John 12:26, Love Is Servant-Spirited.”]
Let His Mind Be in You
Philippians 2:5–11 is a call for believers to see Jesus as their example of humility. Jesus did not have to
grasp or seize equality with God, because He already was God. Instead, He intentionally gave up His majestic glory
to come to earth and take on the identity of humanity. First, He humbled Himself as a man. Next He became a servant.
Finally He stooped to the point of death on the cross.
Jesus did all of this for the sake of relationship. His actions redeemed mankind and reconciled them to God.
His is the definitive example of sacrifice. Jesus gave up His exalted status in the presence of the Father to adopt
a lesser position in order to facilitate the ultimate cross-cultural relationship—heaven to earth.
What would you have to give up in order to pursue friendships with people of other races?
What would your church have to give up in order to develop an interracial ministry in your community?
One of the following two questions doesn't apply directly to your racial status. Perhaps you could ask the opinion
of a friend from another ethnic group. If you do, don't be defensive. Listen to learn.
What attitudes do you think a majority-race person has to let go of in order to become a servant of a minority-race
person?
What attitudes do you think a minority-race person has to let go of in order to become a servant of a majority-race
person?
Sometimes it takes greater humility to accept service from a person of another race than to give it. Why do
you think this is so?
Sacrifice Means Counting the Cost
When our local congregation began to go through its ethnic and cultural change, a lot of whites left us to go
elsewhere. In some cases they left because they did not want their children to grow into the perilous teen years
being close to blacks. The thinking goes like this—if you grow up with them, spend friendship time with them, and
date them, you have a very good chance of … you know.
Are cross-cultural friendships a disadvantage for our children? Well, I suppose you could see a disadvantage
in almost any situation. However, I believe that children who grow up with cross-cultural exposure will be better
equipped to function successfully in life at the adult level. They are growing up into a cross-cultural world.
There is a definite cost to the development of cross-cultural ministry. My wife and I lost close friends. Black
friends have been called “Oreos” and accused of trying to be like “whitey.” White friends have been called “nigger
lovers.” Both have been called “wannabes.” Not everyone is willing or ready to pay the cost to win the prize of
unity within the body of Christ.
How do you think a person engaged in interracial friendships should respond to rejection by family, friends,
and others who are close?
How do you think a person engaged in interracial ministry should deal with the feelings of being a traitor to
his or her own people?
What price of rejection do you think you might face if God directed you into a ministry of racial reconciliation?
Kingdom Extra
Victory comes only through battle, and triumph only follows trial. Only a weak view of the truth of the kingdom
of God pretends otherwise. Another weak view surrenders to negative circumstances on the proposition that we are
predestined to problems and therefore should merely tolerate them. The Bible teaches that suffering, trial, and
all other human difficulty are unavoidable; but God's Word also teaches they may all be overcome. The presence
of the King and the power of His kingdom in our lives makes us neither invulnerable nor immune to life's struggles.
But they do bring the promise of victory: provision in need, strength for the day, and healing, comfort, and saving
help. [Ibid., 1654, “Kingdom Dynamics: Acts 14:21, 22, Suffering, Tribulation.”]
Unleash the Power of Repentance and Forgiveness
Whenever people try to talk about racial tension, that very conversation creates more racial tension. Some of
us, unfortunately, react with rejection, anger, and blame. Sometimes racial biases are so deep-seated that they
need to be repented of. Repentance is a deliberate admission that past thinking and reacting were wrong and must
be replaced with patterns of thinking and reacting based on God's truth. This repentance opens the way for us to
give and receive forgiveness. Forgiveness empowers individuals or groups to release their heavy burdens of guilt
and defensiveness.
Kingdom Extra
The first call of the kingdom of God is to repentance. The implications of biblical repentance are threefold:
1) renunciation and reversal, 2) submission and teachability, and 3) continual shapeability. There is no birth
into the kingdom without hearing the call of salvation, renouncing one's sins, and turning from sin to Christ the
Savior.
There is no growth in the kingdom without obedience to Jesus' commandments and a childlike responsiveness
as a disciple of Jesus, yielding to the teaching of God's Word.
There is no lifelong increase of fruit as a citizen of the kingdom without a willingness to accept the
Holy Spirit's correction and guidance. [Ibid., 1407, “Kingdom Dynamics: Matthew 3:1, 2; 4:17, repentance.”]
Why do you think majority-race members tend to feel no particular personal guilt for the biases and injustices
of society as a whole?
Why do you think minority-race members tend to feel that majority-race members are personally responsible for
the biases and injustices of society as a whole?
Of what attitudes or behaviors toward other races do you (majority-race or minority-race member) need to repent?
On the cross Jesus prayed for all who had conspired and participated in His death, “Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). His sacrifice and willingness to forgive brought us together
with God, whom we now call Father. He calls on us to express that same sacrificial and forgiving spirit wherever
there is alienation from God and other people.
How do you think Jesus was able to shake off the tendency to blame others, and forgive the ones who were being
so cruel to Him?
How can you develop a Christlike attitude of forgiveness in the often hostile arena of racial reconciliation?
C. Peter Wagner is pioneering an area of repentance that some find radical and others find liberating. He calls
it “identificational repentance.” It follows the example of key Old Testament leaders who led Israel in repentance
for the sins of their ancestors in order to prepare for revival.
Describe the “identificational repentance” of each of these leaders for historical sins of Israel.
Moses (Ex. 32:31, 32)
Daniel (Dan. 9:15, 16)
Ezra (Ezra 9:6, 7)
Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6, 7)
Wagner heads a prayer ministry which is sending representatives to various sites in America where atrocities
were committed against American Indians. These intercessors are going to these locations to repent of the sins
perpetrated against innocent Indian women and children. They are doing this even though they were not directly
responsible for such sinful acts.
Wagner's group is also sending representatives into Europe to retrace the travels of the Crusaders who brutalized
Jews and Muslims in the name of Christ. These intercessors will repent of the acts of the Crusaders and acknowledge
the resultant hostility both Jews and Muslims hold against Christians.
What spiritual value can you see in acknowledging the sins of our ancestors and fellow countrymen?
What are the risks you run if you acknowledge the sins of your ancestors in the presence of unforgiving members
of other races?
What possibilities for growth of relationships and commitments between Christians of different races are opened
up by admitting the sins of our ancestors?
Faith Alive
There are three steps to spiritual freedom in cross-cultural relationships:
1. Confess faults, errors, and trespasses to God (1 John 1:9) and to one another (James 5:16). What would it
be liberating for you to confess to God or to a friend of another race?
2. Submit yourself to God (James 4:6, 7). What element of ethnic pride do you need to submit to God so you can
serve Him sacrificially in promoting racial reconciliation?
3. Commit yourself to covenant relationships (1 Sam. 18:3, 4). What sacrificial commitments do you need to make
in a cross-cultural friendship that mirrors the godly friendship of David and Jonathan?
From Race & Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds, Winning the Harvest by Jack W. Hayford with Greg Howse and Michael Posey. Copyright 1996 by Jack W. Hayford.
